In my last post, I discussed the practical advice on doing hard things from Brett and Alex Harris’s bookStart Here. The bulk of the rest of the book is spent on the mindset of a rebelutionary – not on the need to do hard things (that’s what their first book was for), but on how to think and act and live like a rebelutionary. They covered topics from dealing with peers who don’t understand and time management to keeping up the motivation and how to respond to the unintended consequences, both positive and negative, that come from doing things that go against the cultural grain. And over and over again, they bring it back to full dependency on God.

I was impressed with how strongly they warn against pride that may come from the attention and praise that may come from doing hard things. Teens that have followed the rebelutionary lifestyle have made it on the cover of ESPN magazine, have written their own books, and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charitable organizations and social causes. Brett and Alex themselves have been interviewed by media venues such as NPR and The New York Times for their work. In Start Here they very candidly address the dangers of such attention. They remind readers that everything they do is through dependency on God, and when they remember that, pride is transformed into humble thankfulness to God for allowing them to be a part of His work. As they so often remind the reader, they don’t want to be considered exceptional, special, or “better” than other young people. They sincerely believe that ALL teenagers have the capabilities to do hard things when they break away from society’s low expectations and make themselves faithful to God. Continue reading →

I picked up a few books from the library yesterday. I figured I should start my research with the authors that initially inspired my ideas, so I now have three books by Marcus Buckingham and one book by Alex and Brett Harris waiting for me to read. The book by the Harris twins is named Start Here, so I figured I should probably read that one first – you know, since it told me to.

Cover via Amazon

Start Here is the follow-up to the first book the Harris twins wrote, Do Hard Things. In Do Hard Things, Brett and Alex challenged teens to a “rebelution” against the low expectations set for teens by our culture. It was the first book I read that started the gears turning in my brain on this issue. The chapters on the myth of adolescence struck a deep chord, and I loved all the examples they set forth of teens doing great things when they allowed themselves to be used by God. I’ve always loved the passion and potential in teenagers, and Do Hard Things was the hard evidence of those ideas. I partly wanted to read Start Here just to see the next step in their mission, but I’m also kind of hoping for some help myself. They wrote for teens, but I, too, need some advice on how to pursue a big idea that’s been placed on my heart, and that’s what they offer in this book.

So far I’ve read the first three chapters, and I’m just as impressed by the Harris boys’ work as I was on their first book. The target audience is definitely teenagers, so some of it takes some translating to make it apply to my situation (changing “homework” to “my job” and “chores” to “housework,” etc.), but the messages are still very good. Continue reading →